By Dawn Krebs
dkrebs@hometownnewsol.com
ST. LUCIE COUNTY -- There is a telephone scam currently being used in the area that the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office wants residents to be aware of.
The law enforcement office has received information that residents have been receiving phone calls from a person claiming to be a Microsoft security technician.
The "technician" tells the resident that they need to download a security fix into their computer.
"Don't do it," says Ken Mascara, St. Lucie County Sheriff. "This is just another scam to get an unsuspecting person to make his or her computer vulnerable to attack."
If the program the person wishes the resident to download is used, that program would allow those individuals access to the information stored inside the computer, such as bank account or credit card information.
"We have heard that people in our area have been receiving these telephone calls," Sheriff Mascara said. "Anyone who gets such a call is asked to hang up and call 911 to report it."
Microsoft is aware of the scam, and has provided a list of what to be watchful for.
"Here are some of the organizations that cybercriminals claim to be from," the message from Microsoft reads.
It includes: Windows Helpdesk, Windows Service Center, Microsoft Tech Support, Microsoft Support, Windows Technical Department Support Group and the Microsoft Research and Development Team.
More information is available at the website www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy.
"You don't want someone looting your bank account or stealing your credit card number," Sheriff Mascara said.